Easy hikes and walks around Zillebeke Vijver

Grindpad along the pond. The pond is 28 hectares in size and is located just west of the village center. The pond was created in the 13th century, when a number of ponds were built around the city of Ypres for drinking water, the wool industry, and feeding the city moats. In 1217, five ponds were mentioned, to which later modifications were made. By damming the Zillebeek valley, the Zillebekevijver was formed, which took on approximately its current shape around 1295. In addition to this pond, the Dikkebusvijver and Bellewaerdevijver have also been preserved. During the First World War, the pond lay right next to the front line of the Ypres Salient. Today, the pond serves for the production of surface water and is a natural landscape that is also used for recreation. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zillebekevijver

Hill 60 is an authentic area from the First World War. The artificial hill, built in 1850, stood at a height of approximately 60 meters, hence the name Hill 60. Between 1914 and 1918, fierce fighting took place here between the Germans and the Allies. Starting in 1915, both sides dug tunnels under the hill in which mines were detonated. The explosion of the deep mines on June 7, 1917, created the current landscape of Hill 60. Many soldiers are still buried beneath this hill.

An interesting anecdote concerns the circumstances of their death. While the train was stationary, residents heard several shots and found the bodies of Marchant and Olivier about 200 meters away. It is still a mystery whether they tried to escape or whether they were executed. In 1969, a memorial stone was unveiled to commemorate their courage and sacrifice.

The French Resistance Monument at Hill 60 commemorates two French resistance fighters, Pierre Marchant and Lucien Olivier, who were executed by German troops during World War II. On September 2, 1944, they were captured in their hometown of La Madeleine, near Lille, and taken by train to Belgium. They were taken from the train at Hill 60 and shot.

An interesting anecdote concerns the origins of Het Vijverhuis. The building was originally built in 1902 as a pumping station. It was later converted into a luxury holiday home and B&B, while retaining its historical charm.

An interesting anecdote concerns the battles around the pond during the war. Soldiers used the pond as a natural barrier and shelter. There are stories of soldiers wading through the water at night to reach enemy lines, which gave the pond strategic significance.

Larch Wood (Railway Cutting) Cemetery is a cemetery managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The cemetery was established in April 1915 and contains the graves of 857 soldiers, 33 of whom are unidentified. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, who was also responsible for the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.

An interesting anecdote concerns Rifleman Clarence Eastwood Peel of the 18th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps. Clarence Peel was killed in action on 21 October 1917 near Hill 60. His gravestone bears the inscription "Their Glory Shall Not Be Blotted Out," a line from Sirach 44:13, suggested by Rudyard Kipling. Clarence Peel was the uncle of the modern playwright Alan Bennett, who detailed his search for his uncle's grave and life story in the radio monologue "Uncle Clarence".